What Happened to My Creative Endeavors?

The other night, I found myself flipping through some of my old writings.  I had pulled out the manuscript of a musical I started writing back in high school (if you can call two and a half scenes a manuscript) because I wanted to scan it.  I don’t know that I will ever try writing that particular musical again, but as a genealogist, I like to make sure things are archived and preserved.  After re-reading it, I started searching through a notebook full of song lyrics and poems I wrote ages ago for some re-writes I did on the second scene in the musical (I later remembered that I actually wrote them directly into the script).  Going through that notebook made me reflect on things and made me wonder why I stopped writing those things.

Ruminations on Fireworks

This year, as I do most years, I went to visit my parents for the Fourth of July.  There is an amazing fireworks show we watch every year that is quite literally in their backyard, put on from an island in the lake behind their house.  As per usual, we all got in the boat, found a place, dropped anchor, sat back, and watched.  It was an amazing show, as it always is, but I found myself contemplating where we are and where we are going as a country.

I am a patriot.  I love this country dearly because it is one of the most unique and most remarkable ever created.  Normally, when I watch fireworks, I feel at least some sense of pride and awe at this wonderful country.  But this year, I honestly felt nothing.  As I watched those beautiful flashes of color light up the night sky, I could not feel any pride for this country.